Vital.sandbox
Table

table.pack

Shared

Packs values into a table with size information


Syntax

local result = table.pack(...)

Parameters

TypeNameDescription
......Values to pack into a table

Returns

TypeNameDescription
tableresultTable containing all values with field n set to the number of arguments

Examples

Pack multiple values into a table
local t = table.pack(1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

engine.print("info", t[1], t[2], t[3]) --1  2  3
engine.print("info", t.n) --5
Pack values including nils and check count
local t = table.pack("a", nil, "b", nil, "c")

engine.print("info", t[1], t[2], t[3]) --'a'  nil  'b'
engine.print("info", t.n) --5
Pack multiple return values from a function
local function multiReturn()
    return 10, 20, 30
end
local t = table.pack(multiReturn())

engine.print("info", t[1], t[2], t[3]) --10  20  30
engine.print("info", t.n) --3
Pack strings and iterate using n field
local t = table.pack("hello", "world", "lua")

for i = 1, t.n do
    engine.print("info", t[i])
end

--[[
Output: 
'hello'
'world'
'lua'
]]
Pack with no arguments returns n of 0
local t = table.pack()

engine.print("info", t.n) --0
Pack a single value
local t = table.pack(42)

engine.print("info", t[1]) --42
engine.print("info", t.n) --1
Pack mixed types into a table
local t = table.pack(1, "two", true, nil, {5})

engine.print("info", t.n) --5
engine.print("info", type(t[5])) --'table'
n field is more reliable than # with nils
local t = table.pack(1, 2, nil, 4)

engine.print("info", #t) --4 (might be 2 depending on implementation)
engine.print("info", t.n) --4 (always correct)
Preserve trailing nils with n field
local t = table.pack(1, 2, 3, nil, nil)

engine.print("info", t.n) --5
engine.print("info", t[5]) --nil
Iterate safely using n field
local t = table.pack("a", nil, "b", nil)

for i = 1, t.n do
    engine.print("info", i, t[i])
end

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